A University of Maine student struck an employee with their car on Sept. 9, according to Marcus Wolf, who works as UMaine’s director of news and media relations. A week later, on Sept. 16, another car hit a pedestrian. This time, it was a student who was struck by a UMaine employee.
A statement made by Wolf in a Sept. 17 Bangor Daily News article provided more context on the most recent vehicle and pedestrian incident at UMaine.
“The student involved in the incident was treated for minor injuries and released from a local hospital. The student’s parents were notified… [and] the UMaine Police Department (UMPD) investigated the incident,” said Wolf.
Wolf closed by noting that “the university and a University of Maine System safety specialist will work together to promote pedestrian safety on campus further.”
On Sept. 9, UMPD responded to a prior incident in which a student driving a car struck a university employee who was crossing the road on campus. According to a Sept. 17 article by WABI 5, “…no charges will be filed and there’s no indication on what caused the crash [on Sept. 16].”
Many students have become concerned over the frequency of collisions. Sydney Dirga, a second-year communications sciences and disorders student, expressed alarm over the news.
“I was surprised that this has happened more than once in the short time we’ve been here,” said Dirga. “I think people aren’t considering their speed. There have been multiple times when driving on campus that a car came up on me quickly and I thought I’d be hit. I think it’s also a mix of distracted driving… there has to be accountability for both drivers and pedestrians to be paying attention,” said Dirga.
Sam, a first-year student who requested to be referred to by his first name only, recently experienced a collision during which his parked car was hit by another vehicle.
“[I] think the root cause is just people not paying attention,” said Sam. “[I was] just mad no one left a note on my car because there was nothing I could do about it.”
Both Dirga and Sam expressed a desire for stricter safety measures. In response to student concerns, the UMaine Student Government plans to address these incidents by implementing speed tables on Long Road and Sebago Road, where the pedestrians were hit.
“I think the campus should focus less on ticketing for parking and more on ticketing those speeding or driving recklessly,” said Dirga. “What will happen when a reckless driver skids on ice in a popular walking area?”
